You Can’t Rent or Buy Young Frankenstein Online — Here’s Why

Disney bought Fox, and a bunch of great Fox movies basically fell into a black hole. Some you can still trip over on cable or find on an old disc, but if you want to stream or buy them digitally? Good luck.

So where is Young Frankenstein?

This is the one that really makes no sense. Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein turned 50 last year. It got a fresh 4K restoration. It played all over North America in revival screenings. It even sold out every showing at Cinema Moderne here in Montreal. And yet, if you go looking for it right now, it is not on any streamer, it is not for sale or rental on any digital store, and there is no 4K disc. The only legit way to own it is the 2008 Blu-ray, which is still in print and easy enough to grab, but also a 17-year-old disc. For a title this beloved, that is wild.

To make it weirder, an FX TV spinoff is on the way. You would think that is exactly when you rerelease the movie. Apparently not.

Disney's disc strategy makes this even weirder

Disney has mostly backed away from physical media unless the title is undeniable. Think the big guns: Die Hard, Speed, Predator, or one of the Alien films. Even then, Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection are still waiting on proper 4K releases. Meanwhile, that brand-new 4K remaster of Young Frankenstein is just sitting there.

Other studios who trimmed their own disc output found a workaround: license older titles to boutique labels. Warner Bros., Universal, and Paramount have all done deals with places like Arrow Video, Kino Lorber, Shout, and Vinegar Syndrome. Any of them would jump at Young Frankenstein. Criterion would too, and the movie has popped up on the Criterion Channel occasionally. But right now, nada.

"Was troubled to learn last night that YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN is currently not available to stream/rent/buy digitally anywhere. Own physical media"

That was director Christopher Miller on November 1, 2025, and he is not wrong. This is exactly why physical media still matters.

It is not just this one movie

Young Frankenstein is the headline, but the Fox vault has a lot of heavy hitters that are surprisingly hard to track down in 2025:

• The Hot Rock (1972) with Robert Redford - weirdly elusive most days, but it is airing on TCM tonight, so set your PVRs.
• Ron Howard's Cocoon - not nearly as available as it should be for a mainstream hit.
• Dutch - a go-to Thanksgiving watch that is harder to find than the holiday stuffing mix you forgot to buy.
• Kathryn Bigelow's Strange Days - a cult favorite that deserves better access.
• Disney's 4K focus has favored the obvious: Die Hard, Speed, Predator, and the Alien franchise, but Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection are still missing in 4K, just to underline how spotty this all is.

The bigger point

At least Young Frankenstein still has a Blu-ray in print, which is more than you can say for plenty of Fox titles. But the fact that one of the greatest comedies ever made is this tough to legally watch in 2025 is nuts. If Disney is not going to prioritize getting these movies out themselves, hand them to the folks who will.

And while we are at it, what other Fox titles have you been hunting for that keep slipping through the cracks?